This aerial photo shows the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas where a woman fell to her death July 20 in Arlington, Texas. / Louis DeLuca, The Dallas Morning News, via AP

by Laura Petrecca and Rebecca Castagna, USA TODAY

by Laura Petrecca and Rebecca Castagna, USA TODAY

Two amusement park accidents Friday evening - one that left a woman dead and another that injured seven people - have raised a stomach-churning fear for many thrill-ride fans: How safe is the entertainment they love?

Rosa Ayala-Goana of Dallas was killed at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington after she fell out of The Texas Giant roller coaster. In Sandusky, Ohio, a boat on Cedar Point's Shoot the Rapids water ride rolled backward and flipped over. Six received minor first aid at the park. One was sent to a medical center for additional evaluation and was released.

Hordes of amusement park visitors took to social media to express surprise and condolences. Some expressed fear of getting buckled into a ride again.

"The fact that woman fell from the six flags roller coaster & died makes me never want to ride one again," said Ashley Steffen on Twitter via @a_Stefffen.

"I have to say what happened in TX and in Cedar Point makes me really worried about going on the coasters now," was a comment on Cedar Point's Facebook page.

The reality, though, is that injury and death from amusement park rides are rare.

There were an estimated 1,415 injuries on amusement park rides in 2011, according to a report prepared by the National Safety Council Research and Statistical Services Group for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Park visitors took 1.7 billion rides that year.

Those figures are for fixed amusement park rides, not traveling carnival rides. The number of deaths that year was not available, but one of them occurred at the Darien Lake theme park and resort in Upstate New York when an Iraq War veteran died on the Ride of Steel roller coaster.

James Hackemer, who lost both legs to a roadside bomb during the war, was permitted on the ride even though he was not wearing his prostheses and signs indicated the ride required two legs. He came out of his seat and fell about 150 feet.

Such horrifying accidents draw lots of attention, especially because so many people frequent amusement parks, says Dennis Speigel, president of consulting firm International Theme Park Services. They often get the same attention as airplane crashes, he says. "And that's understood," he says. "People come to a theme park to have a good time, not to get hurt."

Each year, the nation's nearly 400 amusement parks have 300 million visitors, according to the IAAPA.

In a Consumer Product Safety Commission analysis of amusement rides at parks and carnivals, an estimated 37,154 people were injured seriously enough to be treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2011. Of those, 35,977 were released, and 1,177 were admitted to the hospital or died.

On Sunday, there was another amusement park incident, but no one was injured.